Apple Settles iPhone Repair Class Action Lawsuit, Will Pay $53 Million

Apple has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit regarding the repair of Apple iPhone smartphones. The lawsuit was filed and ultimately settled in San Francisco federal court.

The lawsuit claims that Apple refused to honor its own warranty repair terms. Apple has not officially signed settlement papers, but Apple chief litigation counsel Noreen Krall signed the initial agreement terms on April 10.

Through June 2010, Apple carefully worded its water damage terms to claim that liquid submersion indicators located inside the phone would not be activated in cases of humidity and temperature changes that are “within the product’s environmental requirements.”

The water damage notice stated that relative humidity between 5 percent and 95 percent would be acceptable but only if it was “noncondensing.”

The lawsuit claims that people living in frequently humid areas were likely to hover on the outskirts of Apple’s acceptable tolerance range for a large part of the year. In fact, most parts of the United States reach 90 percent humidity after periods of heavy rain.

According to Electronista:

“Although the generally high humidity and outdoor temperatures may not trigger the indicating tape, leaving an air-conditioned building into a humid environment can potentially cause condensation on devices, particularly those with metal or glass cases that retain previous thermal conditions better than plastic.”

The payout includes iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and iPod Touch units.

Apple is expected to pay upwards of $200 per claimant. The payout will be based upon actual damages after Apple refused to pay.

Will you be placing a claim against Apple’s settlement?